USFS/USFWS redefine 'secure habitat' for grizzlies + Interior seeks flexibility on predator management
Key Questions
How has the definition of secure grizzly habitat changed?
Federal agencies reduced the secure habitat threshold from 2,500 acres to just 1 acre for a Montana logging project, potentially impacting the corridor between recovery zones. This mirrors a 2025 lawsuit outcome and could reshape policy.
What flexibility is the Interior Department seeking for predator management?
Regulatory changes would shift more control to states for grizzly and wolf management, aligning with delisting debates and rancher conflict concerns. Conservation groups view this as a recurring threat to protections.
What are the potential impacts on grizzly recovery zones?
The rule change threatens connectivity between major zones and could increase human-bear conflicts. Ongoing litigation aims to preserve stricter habitat standards established previously.
Agency rule change reduces secure habitat definition from 2,500 acres to 1 acre, threatening the only corridor linking two major grizzly recovery zones. Similar lawsuit won in 2025; this is a recurring fight that could reshape grizzly management and conservation policy. New: Interior Department seeking regulatory flexibility for grizzly and wolf management, potentially shifting more control to states. Aligns with delisting debates and rancher conflicts.